Carton and method of making the same



Oct. 3, 1933. H WEBER 1,929,267

CARTON AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 2, 1931 Patented Oct. 3, 1933 UNITED STATES 1,929,267 CARTON AND METHOD or MAKING THE SAME H Leland Weber, San Francisco, Calif., assignor to Fibreboard Products Inc., San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application November 2, 1931. Serial No. 572,493

2 Claims.

My invention relates to a carton, and particularly to a tubular carton having a design thereon.

It is among the objects of my invention to provide a time, material and labor savingmethod of applying a design on a tubular carton which is made from a strip of material adapted to be wound helically to form the tube.

Another object of my invention is to provide a tubular carton of the character described in which the design is printed directly on the strip material used in making up the walls of the tube, thus eliminating the need of separately applied labels.

A further object of my invention includes the provision of a method of making a tubular carton of the character described which permits the attainment of the above named objects while at the same time allows the printing to be done under successful operating conditions, viz., under conditions prior to the winding operation when the strip to be printed on is still fiat.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of my invention. It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to this disclosure of species of my invention, as I may adopt variant embodiments thereof within the scope of the claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating the method of my invention, and shows a portion of the printed strip of material and the manner in which the strip is wrapped on a mandrel to form the tube.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of a completed carton embodying my invention.

In terms of broad inclusion, the tubular carton having a design thereon embodying my invention comprises a helically wound strip; the design being arranged in sections on the strip with a section on one convolution of the strip matched with a section on an adjacent convolution, and the sections of the design being arranged on the strip so that the design is in a selected position on the tube and at a predetermined angle with respect to the axis of the tube. The method of making the carton comprises printing or otherwise applying the design on the strip prior to the winding operation, and arranging the design in sections positioned angularly of the strip and in orderly arrangement so that the helical winding of the strip matches the sections to form the complete design and places the same in a selected position on the tube and at a predetermined angle with respect to the axis of the tube.

In greater detail, and referring particularly to Figure 2, the carton embodying my invention is of tubular construction having a suitable bottom 2 and cap 3; the side walls of the carton being formed by a tube 4. The bottom 2 is secured in the lower end of the tube 4 in any suitable manner, and the cap 3 preferably makes a close sliding fit with the top of the tube. These latter features do not form a part of my invention, and it is understood that they may be varied to accord with any known or desirable construction.

As best shown in Figure 1, the tube 4 'forming the side walls of the carton is preferably of laminated construction and is built up of helically. wound strips of flexible material, such as fiberboard. For purposes of illustration a two layer laminated tube is shown; the inner layer being formed by helically winding a strip 6 about a suitable mandrel 7, and the outer layer being formed by helically winding a strip 8 about the mandrel and over the inner layer. The strips 6 and 8 are preferably wound in the same direction with the strips offset to break joints for adding to the rigidity of the tube, and a suitable adhesive is preferably applied during the winding operation to adhesively unite the layers together. This provides a tube of unitary and rigid construction. If a stronger tube is desired additional layers may be applied. After the tubing has been formed it is cut into the desired lengths by means of a suitable cutter. Any suitable means or machine may be employed for effecting the winding of the strip, the application of the adhesive, and the cutting of the tube into lengths.

The inventive idea embodied in my invention resides in the application of the design 9 on a carton of the character above described. The particular design shown is merely for purposes of illustration; it being understood that the design may be of any desirable nature or character. Ordinarily a design on the sides of a carton, such as the paneled design shown, extends substantially the full length of the carton. In a tubular carton of the character described this means that the design extends over several convolutions of the helically wound strip.

In the carton of my invention the design 9 is preferably printed directly on the outer strip 8 used in making up the tube. To facilitate the printing operation the design is applied on the strip 8 when it is in a fiat condition, viz., prior to the winding operation. Since the design extends over several convolutions of the helical winding in the tube, the design is applied on the strip 8 in sections; the sections of the design being posin tloned angularly oi the strip and in orderly arrangement so that the helical winding of the strip matches the sections to form the complete design and places the same in an upright position with respect to the axis 01 the tube.

The angular relation between the design sections and the longitudinal axis of the strip is the same as that between the axis of the strip and the axis of the tube; viz., the design sections are positioned at an angle with the longitudinal axis of the strip, which angle is equal to the pitch of the wrapping. This is clearly shown in Figure 1. In the finished tube, as shown in Figure 2, the completed design appears in upright position, with a section of the design on one convolution of the strip matched with a section on an adjacent convolution.

My method of forming the tubular carton possesses particular merit in that the design may be applied directly on the walls of the tube. This does away with the need of separate labels for carrying the design. When the design is printed. as is usually the case, the printing may readily be accomplished, because the sections of the design are printed on the flat sheet prior to the winding operation. These features speed up the time required in making the cartons, reduce the number of materials involved, simplify the process of tubular carton construction, and materially lessen the cost of their manufacture.

While I have chosen to show a design which is positioned upright with respect to the axis of the tube, it is to be noted that the angular positioning of the design sections on the strip 8 may be varied so as to place the design at any desired angle with respect to the axis of the tube. An-

other point to be noted is that the spacing of the design sections on the strip 8 determines the position of the design on the tube. While I have shown a design which extends substantially the length of the tube, it is understood that the same may be of any size and may be selectively placed in any desired-position on the tube.

I claim:

1. A tubular carton having a design printed thereon, comprising a helically wound strip having the design printed in sections thereon so that a section on one convolution matches with a section on an adjacent convolution, and a bottom in the tube formed by said helically wound strip, the sections oi the design being printed diagonally across the strip at an angle substantially equal to the pitch of the helical winding so that the design extends circumierentially about the carton and is positioned upright with respect to said bottom.

2. The method of making tubular cartons having a printed design thereon from strip material adapted to be wound helically into a tube, which comprises printing the design in reoccurring succession along the flat strip prior to the winding operation, each design unit being printed in sections grouped along and positioned diagonally across the strip at an angle substantially equal to the pitch at which the strip is wound into the tube, helically winding the strip into a tube so that the design sections are brought into regis-Q tration to form a succession of complete design units extending circumferentially around and inc spaced along the tube, and cutting the tube U 

